Door-check.



E. ANHORN.

DOOR GHEGK.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 30, 1911.

Patented Nov. 19, 1912.

Em l..-

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIQE EMANUEL ANHORN, OF GLEN ULLIN, NORTH DAKOTA.

DOOR-CHECK.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMANUEL ANHoRN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glen Ullin, in the county of Morton and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door- Checks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

1o My invention relates to new and useful improvements in door checks and more particularly to a catch especially adapted for use in connection with screen doors, and my object is to provide a device of this character which will automatically and securely catch and lock the door when once closed to prevent the same from being opened from the outside.

A further object of the invention resides in providing a device which, when properly and effectively disposed, cannot be readily tampered with, with malicious or other intent from the outside.

Still another object of the invention resides in providing a spring-held lever having a notch therein and adapted to be carried on the inner face of the door, and a further object resides in providing means on the door-frame adapted to be automatically engaged with the notch in said lever when the door is closed.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing means for the adjustment of the tension of the spring acting on said lever, whereby the wear on said spring may be compensated for.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing a device which is simple and durable in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and one which is very efiicient and useful in operation.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my improved door catch applied to use. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section therethrough, and, Fig. 8 is a vertical section therethrough.

In carrying out my invention, I shall re fer to the drawing in which similar refer- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 30, 1911.

Patented Nov. 19, 1912.

Serial No. 652,093.

ence characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views and in which-1 indicates a door of any preferred type,but preferably a screen door, hingedly mounted within the door-frame 2, and mounted on the inner face of said door, is the base plate 3 of my improved door catch, said base plate being removably mounted in position through the medium of the screws 4 extending through openings in said plate.

' Formed on the plate 3 so as to extend laterally therefrom and from the door when said plate is mounted on the latter, is a channelshaped housing 5, the openin or channel formed in said housing being disposed on the side edge thereof adjacent the free or swinging edge of the door, and pivotally mounted on a screw 6 at the end of said housing immediately adjacent the base plate 3, is a lever or the like 7, said lever being so disposed as to move within the channel shaped housing.

The lever 7 extends beyond the outer end of the housing 5 and has a head or the like 8 formed at the free end thereof, said headi having its one side rounded, as shown at 9,

and provided with a notch 10 at the junction of said head with the lever proper,

the purpose of which will be hereinafter, and more particularly described, and in forder to limit the movement of the lever with respect to the housing, a screw 11 is entered through openings 12 and 13, re spectively, in said lever and housing and.

has the free end thereof beyond the one side of the housing 5, engaged with a nut 14. In order that the providing of the opening 12 in the lever 7 be made to cause no ill effect upon the strength of said lever, the same is enlarged at that point, as shown at 15, and in order to accommodate this enlargement of the lever, the housing 5 is correspondingly enlarged, as shown at 16. As the nut 11 is adjustable on the free end of the screw 11, it will be appreciated that the movement of the lever with respect to the housing may be adjusted, as desired, and encircling said screw between the inner side edge of said lever and the inner face of the side wall of said housing, is a coil spring 17, the tendency of which is to force said lever from the housing.

The door-frame 2 has mounted on the wall thereof adjacent the swinging end of the door, a keeper 18 which is substantially U- shaped and extended vertically of said frame. The one arm of this U-shaped keeper 18 has a head 19 formed thereon which has an opening therein through which a screw or the like 20 is inserted and engaged with the frame to secure the device thereto, while the opposite arm of the member is sharpened, as shown at 21, to be readily driven into and engaged with the wood of the frame. Being U-shape, the body portion of the member 18 will extend a short distance from thewall 2, and when properly positioned, is disposed in alinement with the lever 7 of the member carried on the door 1-, and from this construction, it will be seen that as said door is moved to its closed position, the head 8 of said lever will contact with this member 18, the rounded end 9 of said head allowing the lever to ride thereover and yield against the action of the spring until the notch 10 en gages the body portion of said member 18.

The spring 17 being under tension at thisv time, will lock said notch tightly in engagement with the member 18 and prevent the door from being opened until such time when .a person on the inside removes the head of the lever from its locked engagement with the member 18. In order to facilit'ate the disengagement of the notch 10 from the member 18, the head 8 is provided with an enlarged opening 22, within which may be engaged a finger of the hand to swing said lever on its pivot.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided an improved door catch particularly adapted for use in connection with screen doors, whereby when the door is closed, it will be automatically locked cannot be opened or tampered with from the outside. It will further be seen that I have provided means to limit the movement of the pivoted lever, which means is adjustable in 'order to adjust the limitations of the lever and at the same timeeompensate for the wear upon the spring acting upon said lever. It will still further be seen that my device is extremely simple and durable in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and one which is very eiiicient and useful in operation.

WhatIclaim is g V 1. In a door check of the class described, the combination with a channel-shaped housing adapted for application to a door, a lever removably pivoted at one end thereof to said housing and having the free end of the same extended therebeyond, an enlarged head formed on said extended free end of the lever, said head having a rounded side edge provided with a notch and also having a finger opening therethrough, spring means to normally force said lever in its outward position, and adjustable means to limit the movement of said lever; of a keeper adapted to be applied to a door frame for engagement with the notch in the head of said lever.

2. In a door check of the class described, the combination with a channel -shaped housing adapted for application to a door, opposite Walls of said housing having bulged portions formed thereon, a lever remova'bly pivoted at one end thereof to the housing and having the free end of the same extended beyond the outer end of the housing, said lever being provided with an enlarged portion thereon adapted to travel in the space provided by the bulged portions of said housing, an enlarged head formed on the extended free end of "said lever, said head having a finger opening therein and also having a rounded side edge provided with a notch therein, a screw loosely extended through the enlarged portion of said lever through the one wall "of said housing, a coil spring encircling said screw between the latter wall of the housing and said lever to normally force the latter outwardly, said spring being disposed in the space between said bulged portions of the housing, and means engaging the free end of said screw to' adjustably limit the outward movement Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, 1). 0? 

